IMS selects 5 locals to help craft artwork for Indy 500 weekend

INDIANAPOLIS — Five local artists have been selected to help create works for this year’s Indy 500.

According to a press release, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Arts Council picked Miracle Hall, Anna Afshar, Lindsey Lord, Carlos Sosa Pagan and Jaylei Osting to contribute artwork to this year’s iteration of the Welcome Race Fans series.

The Welcome Race Fans series has yielded numerous works for the Indy 500 since 2016. This year’s artwork is slated to be on display throughout the month of May, per IMS officials.

The five artists selected to create work for this year’s Indy 500 were picked from a pool of 38 applicants. Per a release, artists have been tasked with producing works that “bring to life what ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ means to the ‘Racing Capital of the World.’”

“The city of Indianapolis and the people who call Indy home are one of the many reasons the month of May is so special,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said via release. “As thousands flock to IMS from across the globe, the Welcome Race Fans art is one of the first things they see, letting them know they’re home too.”

This year’s Welcome Race Fans works will be unveiled at the Indianapolis Artsgarden on May 2.

“‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ meets the ‘Greatest Art in Racing’ in this highly anticipated annual collaboration with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” president and CEO of the Indy Arts Council Julie Goodman said via release. “Welcoming the world to Indianapolis with engaging public art is a key part of our mission, and we are excited to celebrate the creativity of this year’s featured artists in May.”